


A Moment of Courtesy

by stand_by_me



Series: Clack Week 2016 [6]
Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: ...this doesn't exactly fit the prompt but it /would/ have been my favorite moment had it happened, First Kiss, Multi, Pre-Nibelheim Incident, mentions of cloti and zerith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stand_by_me/pseuds/stand_by_me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The general's locked himself in the library for a week now, and everyone's a bit on edge.  But that doesn't mean Zack and Cloud can't share one tender moment, before everything goes wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Moment of Courtesy

**Author's Note:**

> ...I don't have much to say about this one. I wasn't gonna write about Zack's death _again_ , and the fact that this is right before the shitstorm meant that both boys were super angsty, and I couldn't get this to my usual standard of fluffiness. Oh, well.

The inn was empty when Zack woke up.  _Alone again_.  But there was a notification on his PHS, and he smiled when he saw it was from Cloud.  _If you’d like…_

_Hey, do you want to come over to my house?  I want you to try Mom’s cooking.  The thing is, I haven’t been home yet since I’ve been here.  I hadn’t been able to make up my mind about it, but I decided that I should show my face…but going home alone is a bit uncomfortable, so I was hoping you could join me_. – _Cloud_

Zack looked out the window, hoping for a sight of his blond friend.  _He wants to take me home?  That’s really sweet…but…it sounds kind of date-y?  Wouldn’t that count as cheating on Aerith?  Am I reading too much into this?_

_No, maybe he means it in just a friend way,_ part of his mind said.  _There’s such a thing as platonically taking a friend home to make things easier…more comfortable…to try Mom’s cooking…but damn, I can’t shake the feeling that he feels a certain way about me._

“Any news on the general?” the innkeeper asked as he walked downstairs.

“No…he still won’t let anyone in,” Zack admitted.  “Strife and I are taking turns watching the door.”  _Praying he’ll open it soon, and be alright when he does.  I swear, the monsters in the reactor triggered something…_

“I hope you’re enjoying our town, even with the accident last week,” the innkeeper said, tone grating at Zack’s frayed nerves.  The town was barely enjoyable without having lost an infantryman during the bridge collapse…he was just grateful it wasn’t Cloud.

“Of course,” Zack lied.  _There’s nothing I want more than to go home and just leave this mess behind me.  Behind us – me, and Cloud, and Sephiroth, if he’ll stay with Shinra after this._

The innkeeper seemed satisfied with that answer, so Zack left the inn, looking around the village square for any familiar faces.  _Everyone here is so reclusive…only a few people even came out to see us that day we went to the reactor.  Now they all just hide in their homes…no wonder Cloud wanted out.  I would have too._

There wasn’t any point in trying to speak with the villagers inside their homes – the tour guide, Tifa, was the only one who’d give him more than the time of day, and she only ever asked about Cloud.  _I swore I wouldn’t say anything, but…they need to talk.  Clear things up.  She’s obviously still into him, and he…I think he would’ve been a lot less nervous if someone else had been the tour guide._

Zack made his way towards the mansion, ignoring the mass of dread in his chest.  The gate opened with a creak, the door with a groan.

There wasn’t any immediate reaction to his presence, so Zack made his way upstairs and to the entrance of the secret passage, only to find Cloud sound asleep, helmet off for the first time in days.  _Poor guy…this whole week has been hard on him._

“Hey, Cloud,” Zack said, brushing the blond bangs out of his eyes.  _He looks so peaceful sleeping…maybe I could see if – no.  No, I’ve been over this.  But what am I supposed to do now?_

“Mmm…mmm?  Zack?”  Cloud’s eyes opened slowly and Zack offered him a smile, the least he could do for his friend.  “I fell asleep…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Zack said, sitting down next to him and putting a friendly arm around his shoulders.  “Any news on Sephiroth?”

Cloud pounded his fist into the door.  It didn’t budge.  _Wow, how shocking…it’s been a week, when will he let us in?_   “He’s not even making any sound…I wonder what he’s been up to, down there.”

_He hasn’t been totally silent.  Pages turning, scribbled handwriting…it’s hard to hear without the mako, though, and I wouldn’t wish any more burden on Cloud._ “So I got your email,” Zack said, avoiding meeting his gaze.

“Oh…it was just an idea,” Cloud said, sounding like he’d already been rejected.  _Gods, I…I don’t know what to do about this.  About anything._ “If you don’t want to…I get it.”

“No, I want to,” Zack said, feeling the weight on his chest lift a bit when Cloud smiled, a sight he’d seen all too rarely since they met in Modeoheim.  “I haven’t even seen your mom since we’ve been here.”

“Well, she’s not too fond of Shinra,” Cloud admitted.  “I think it has something to do with my dad…it doesn’t matter.  We can’t go anyway, one of us has to watch the door.”

There was a sudden laugh, a foreign cackle that gave Zack goosebumps and caused Cloud to unconsciously lean into him.  _Was that…Sephiroth?_ Zack gulped, deciding to ignore the sound.  It wasn’t like they could do anything about it.  “While we’re here…did you ever talk to Tifa?”

“No…it’s too embarrassing.  She’s looking for a Cloud in SOLDIER.  I’m not in SOLDIER,” Cloud said, trying to move away before Zack impulsively pulled him closer.  _Whatever he’s feeling, this isn’t helping…but I don’t want to let go._   “I can’t confide in her like I can in you…”

The look in his eyes struck something deep in Zack’s heart.  “Cloud…”

“Is it just me?” Cloud asked, voice wavering.  “I feel like…like I can do anything when you’re around.  Like none of the weak parts of me even matter.  And when I think of you…there’s, um…you’re amazing.  In every way I can think of.”  _He said I give him the courage to stay strong..._

Zack realized something then – he’d been lying to himself for a while now.  _I feel…something.  I don’t know if it’s the same, Goddess knows I’m already more damaged from all this than Cloud will ever be, if I have anything to say about it…and…Aerith is probably my favorite person on the planet, but…so is Cloud.  Both of them.  I love both of them._

Cloud broke free of his grasp, resting his head in his hands.  “I knew it would be like that…forget I said anything.”

“No,” Zack said, and when Cloud turned back around to face him, Zack’s inhibitions flew out the window.  _Sweet, strong Cloud…you try so hard, and even though you don’t see it, you’re better than the rest of us.  Not a SOLDIER, but…a good man._

“What?”

“I can’t forget,” Zack said.  “Everything you say, everything you do…it’s like you said…it gives me the courage to stay strong.”

“I…keep you strong?”

“Goddess, Cloud…I…” Zack leaned in without meaning to, and when their lips finally touched, he almost forgot why he’d been trying so hard to keep his distance.  He could tell Cloud had been waiting for this from the earnest way he kissed, from the way his hands moved to grip Zack’s shoulders from under his pauldrons, and he realized with a start that he’d been waiting for this, too.

Like all beautiful moments, it ended all too soon.  _I shouldn’t have done that, I shouldn’t have done that before talking to Aerith about it._ “Wait, Zack…don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“…Yeah.”

“Um…”

Zack sighed, resting his forehead in Cloud’s infantry scarf.  “It’s not your fault,” he said, putting as much conviction into his voice as he could.  “When we get home…to Midgar, I mean…I’ll take you to see her.  You’ll like her…she’s funny and kind, she makes things grow where it seems impossible.  We’ll work everything out.”

Cloud still looked terrified.  “Won’t she be…angry?  With me?”

_I can’t imagine her blowing up over this._ “It’ll be okay, I promise,” Zack said, already feeling better.  “I think…we needed that.  And…you still have feelings for Tifa, right?”

The blush that spread over his friend’s cheeks spoke for itself.  “I still haven’t talked to her, but…yeah.”

“So there’s room in our hearts for more than one person,” Zack said with an only slightly forced smile.  “Everything will work out…no matter what.”

“Okay,” Cloud said, leaning against the door.  It opened, and the draft from the passage dissipated the warm atmosphere.

Another laugh came up the stairwell, fully audible and far more disturbing than before.  _This is a nightmare._ “Well, that’s that,” Zack said, standing up and reaching an arm out to help Cloud do the same.  “I’ll check on Seph.  You go tell the mayor what’s up.”

“...Okay,” Cloud said, sliding his helmet back on over blond spikes.  “Be careful down there.”

“I will,” Zack said, peering down the spiral steps.  _I have a bad feeling about this._   _Please be okay, Sephiroth...please don’t go the way Angeal and Genesis went…I don’t think I can take it this time…_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bringing out the big guns tomorrow for remake day. (Whether y'all like the big guns or not, I don't know...the whole plot came from a really elaborate dream I had a while back).


End file.
